Concerto d'Autunno (2009)

This was the first Taiwanese drama I watched after my friend kept pestering me about exploring Taiwanese world of dramas. But after watching Autumn's Concerto, I realize it was not pestering but a gift of such a classic.

The story is just great (although I have seen some Indian serials with the same story line) but Taiwanese direction made it more amazing. The acting from Ady An to Xiao Xiao and Vaness Wu, they make the perfect family cast I've ever seen. The main leads look so compatible with each other that you actually start imagining them as an actual-real life family!And the side actors won't disappoint you as well. Everyone contributes beautifully. I loved the second leads as well, Xu Tiffany and Wu Chris. They are both equally good looking and attractive on screen.

MUSIC!!! The whole Original Sound Track is just marvelous! "Wo Ai Ta", "Family","I thought" etc are so nice. It makes you feel the emotion of the scene where it is played.
Re watch value is high. I watch it when I wanna remember the amazing scenes from this drama because the acting is worth your time.

I'd like to make a special judgement as well. The dialogue writer of this drama is awesome. There are some many quotes from this drama that are actually worth remembering.
The most famous one being, “Did you know that in the skating ring, if you give your hands to the other person it means that your life is in his hands? I said that I will hold on to you so that means I promise to protect you, no matter what…” – Guang Xi.

Overall, its very nice and it will touch your heart. Don't keep it any longer on the "Plan To Watch" list. GO WATCH IT! :)

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OK, rewatched this over dates 09/02/20 and 10/02/20, fastforwarding

Original score in 2011 - 10/10
If I were to rate it now - 6/10

The FL is a pathological liar. I never picked up on it b4. She is asked to tell the truth 4x, she still lies. She pawns her wedding ring, and lies about that. She lies about several things. In the beginning you (kinda) get her motivation, but the levels of cruelty she goes too, WOW. However, I suppose we're meant to detect she has a good heart. As a rule, I like these kinda ppl in my dramas, but I'm not rooting for their eternal happiness, tho in the past, I clearly supported her all the way - so I can't help root for it, like I once did.

The ML is pitiful for all he went thru. All the lies. All the deceit. When he FINALLY got the microchip (felt an age), I went into the thrill of him seeking revenge. Turns out he loves her still. The thrill was a former echo of what I felt. Not as intense, but appreciated. Wu is a great looking guy, when he was on his knees yelling to heavens, you can't help but admire his physique than his acting. He is a good actor tho.

What surprised me - I remember when younger, I was VERY bored with villager drama. This time round, I was very interested in it. WHAT A SURPRISE. I did fast-forward gardener bits, (2nd ML) when he had his own spin stories that lasted 10+ mins. Like I don't mind the guy, but I'm fast-watching this u know. I'll like to stress, when I originally watched this, I didn't fast watch.

The little kid!!! I remember I loved him soooooo much when I originally watched 9 years ago. Now I was this close to finding him annoying. (gasp, my maternal side gone). If he was few years older, he'd be annoying for sure. Why? He kept insisting calling his dad, "alien daddy" (which yh fair enuff, he is ur real dad) but the lil kid is constantly told not too. He keeps throwing tantrums and acting clingy. But then when he withdraws this amount of love, I felt it deep.

Look, I still love the kid. Not as much, but he's so frigging cute

Will I ever come back? YES

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I really wanted to love "Autumn's Concerto". I really did. For months now I have heard nothing but good things about this drama- that it makes you cry, that it shows the grand, sweeping portrayal of a love we all want. I had fairly high expectations, so it's kind of obvious that I would be disappointed. In a sense, "Autumn's Concerto" did live up to all the hype, but in other areas it fell flat.
Story: A lot of people will hate me for this, but the story honestly isn't that new or that interesting. You have your typical "arrogant jerk" meets "sweet female lead" and they fall in love, then you have your typical mama-drama in which the mom opposes the relationship, then you have amnesia, then a time skip, and then the inevitable "we meet again". You can tell where I'm going with all this, right? It all leads up to the "happily ever after", where all the heartbreak is forgotten and everyone is forgiven and the whole world is just rainbows and butterflies and sparkles.
This whole drama sort of gives me conflicted feelings. On one hand, I want to like it. If I were to stop comparing it to other dramas, I probably would like it. If this were the first drama I had ever watched then I would like it- but the thing is that "Autumn's Concerto" is unoriginal and predictable. If I were to rate it based on it's merits, then this would get a 9. Compared to everything else? A 6. There are some fresher moments- I've never seen a drama where there's a kid involved, or a rape case, and while the writers did use those to their advantage, it wasn't really in a new way.
Acting: Bin Xiao Xiao is brilliant and the supporting characters are nice. I had a bit of a problem with Vanness Wu in the beginning. Not because his acting was bad, because he was pretty good, but because he looked way too old to be a college student. His hair and almost-stache made him look like a middle-aged ex-teen pop idol. I felt like the designers were trying too hard to make him look younger and it didn't really work out. As far as Ady An goes, the writers didn't really give her much to work with. Her character wasn't really a "Candy" girl, but she wasn't really anything new either. It felt like she didn't have any real personality of her own.
Music: The music was amazing. I loved almost every song on the OST.
Rewatch Value: I might, but at the same time I don't really want to.
Overall: I think the only reason this is a classic is because Vanness Wu is in here. Other than that I can't really see the reason why. This was a nice story, but it was a little boring and a]had really anti-climatic ending.

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Just finished rewatching this great show.
Usually I don't watch Taiwanese dramas because of the language, but i decided to give it a try because of its high rating . It's the first Taiwanese drama that I've watched and it's already in the list of my favorites. It mixed all my emotions... while watching a drama, i almost never cry, but after episode 6 i couldn't help crying. when i watched it for the first time, I was hooked by the computer and rewatched episode 16 for 1000000X.
Wu Vanness and An Andy did a great job. the acting was awesome.
It's an absolutely must watch drama...

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Knowing the *cough cough* cheesy plot this drama had (sorry), I watched this without much expectation, but I ended up to be actually quite fond of this.

So, what’s so special about this drama? Most of the time I refuse to watch dramas with mediocre premise, except if they have something special in it. For this one, I found the promotional posters are so beautiful and have special warm feeling in it. (well, I'm such a sucker for visually beautiful scenes)

Get hang for the first two episodes. Many people like this drama from the very beginning. I was not one of them (I did like the opening scene though. The short background of Mu Cheng’s childhood life was so beautifully done. Unfortunately, the later scenes fails to keep me impressed).
Anyway, if you like it from the first episode, I guess you will love it till the end. But, if you still cant get into the story even after the 3rd episode, I guess this drama is simply not your cup of tea ;)

For me, after watching the first 3 episodes, I started to get addicted. There’s something in this drama which I can’t describe clearly. Maybe because of the beautiful scenes, maybe because of Guang Xi’s mighty charm, or the uber touching lines, or Xiao Le’s cuteness, or the beautiful background musics, I dont know, I’m not sure. Something I know for sure is I like how the scenes are cleverly connected to each other when you dont expected it, and how the two second lead characters which arent bitchy.

What I didn't like from this drama is, it dragged quite long in the middle episodes. If they shorten it into 10-15 episodes, I think it will be a lot better :)

Detailed rating:

Plot: 2/10 » As I said before, the idea is really not at all great and even cheesy. That from-hate-become-love plot. That gorgeous rich playboy who “unexpectedly” fall in love to that “special” poor girl (yes, that Cinderella plot). That 4-square love plot. We all have seen many other stories which conveys this kind of stories. Not even to say that amnesia! Oh God! These types of plot I usually stayed away from. (I hate all of these cliche so much I wanted to rate this 1/10. I give them extra +1 point for featuring parenting issue)

Scriptwriting: 6.8/10 » The interesting side is, even with those lame plots, the story will keep you digging for more. What happen “now” is related to the next story. There are many beautiful scenes and touching lines which will warm your heart for sure. But they dragged it too much in the middle part. The first 6 episodes was great but the latter was not. Anyway, the story was split to 2 parts with episodes 6-7 acted as divider episodes. I prefer the earlier part. The later was just dragged too much.

Directing: 7.5/10 » The scenes are well-filmed, and the editing is nicely done

Acting: 8/10 » Ady An and Van Ness Wu did a very good job here. About the little boy Xiao Xiao Bin’s, well, he wasn't bad, but sometimes we still can clearly see he is not that natural in acting. Dont get me wrong, I love him too! I know, he is cute. I admit for his age, it was really wonderful acting skill. The rest of the cast are excellent. I’m not too fond with the villagers acting, forced acting, but I think it was okay regarding they’re just minor supporting roles.

Soundtrack: 10/10 » The soundtrack was simply perfect. All of the songs beautifully captured the emotions of the scenes. Well done.

Overall Rating: 7 » Enjoyably good. I just hope they shorten it though. Not recommended if you can’t stand slow-paced series. Highly recommended if you like romance stories mixed with family theme.

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It's all about Lies, Lies and More Lies!!!!

Watching this Taiwanese classic in 2024 is definitely interesting and my expectations are high (maybe too high). I can look past the fashion and ML’s ugly hairstyle, but “Autumn Concerto” has so many different tropes and illogical things. I also feel that I need to stop my critical thinking and enjoy the ride on a more emotional level. That way, the drama is more enjoyable.

I love the mature Aidy An in “Legend of Dugu”. She’s the best part of that show. But a younger Aidy An is somewhat annoying in this drama. Her acting is not quite there yet and gave me this bland expression. But I think what’s worse is I don’t like her character, Mu Cheng. She is definitely pretty in this drama, but Mu Cheng keeps a secret for way too long. She should and could have spoken up many times in various situations, instead of acting like a victim. I also do not like her voice, which is supposed to be gentle and soothing. I just find it annoying, unfortunately.

Despite not liking Mu Cheng as a girlfriend, I like her as a mother. Her relationship with her son Xiao Le is the highlight of the show. This little kid is adorable but I don’t think there’s any other 5-year old who speaks like him out there. I am going to look past that and just enjoy how kind-hearted, sweet, adorable and smart he is. Xiao Le’s interaction with every single adult brings me so much joy. Yes, even the little kid bully.

Vanness Wu is another draw to watch this drama. But I find his acting very inconsistent. There are scenes I think he did fine and was natural, but not when it comes to more emotional (angry or sad) scenes. I really feel for his character. Poor Guang Xi suffered so much and is being lied to by everyone. I was rooting for him and actually wanted him to not end up with FL. I think he deserves better.

When it comes to acting, Chris Wu is the best out of the main characters, only second to ML’s mother. I cannot believe “Autumn’s Concerto” is his very first drama (He did have a few movies under his belt). But compared to Aidy An and Vanness Wu, he’s the less experienced one but I love his acting the most. If it’s in any other drama, his character would be the male lead. His confession to Mu cheng is so touching and sincere. I want to marry him! Chris Wu is the best part of the show and he doesn’t seem to have aged.

The pacing of the drama is a little uneven as well. I found the first arc when they were all in college went by pretty fast. A lot of things happened but each mini subplot or misunderstanding is resolved rather quickly. But once we switch to the present-day timeline, the pace slows down. They spend a lot of time in the village with those loud villagers. I am not surprised they are loud but at least they’re not too nosy. Towards the end of the drama, the pace picked back up a little with the court cases. But also felt that the editing and storytelling are choppy. I also think that the drama waited too long for the shit to hit the fan (the big secret to out).

For a melodrama with a focus on romance, it’s really hard for me to enjoy when 1) I don’t like the female lead, 2) I don’t think the leads should end up together, 3) I think the secondary leads should just go and date each other and forget about the leads who don’t deserve them. For a romance-lover like me, if I am not rooting for the leads to be together, there’s no way I would end up enjoying the drama. I also need to shut down my brain because there are too many ridiculous things that happened. I don’t want to list them all as they could be spoilers.


But luckily, we have an adorable kid, a handsome Chris Wu, nice secondary leads who are not evil and Vanness Wu showing off his abs. This is enough to keep this at an 8.0 for me. Even though I like the songs, they are WAY overplayed. I wonder if I would have loved “Autumn’s Concerto” more if I were watching this in 2008 and not in 2024.


Completed: 1/25/2024 - Review #398

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r u kidding me, this was my first taiwanese drama and boy oh boy m goin back for more. van ness wu is foine and an ady is just beautiful. i finished it in two days each episode is so captivating and even when its 4am at night u r just like one more please. where do i start, well the summary is mu cheng is a rich kid whose parents die and she has to live with her aunt and some creepy step dad. she meets hunk van ness thru a bet but they end up falling in love. van ness is diagnosed with brain tumor and looses his past memory. now hes fallen for a new girl and are about to get married. little does he know his first love bore his child. nuff said, the kid is the epicenter of the drama. hes the most grown up 5 year old and made me wish to have a kid like him. hilarious and straight forward till the end when he plays detective. watch this if u have a weekend off ooz i swear so much goodies is in this drama. and the kiss scenes.......

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My first big revelation about this drama was discovering within two minutes of the first ep that, "hey, they're not speaking Korean!" I stayed with it anyway and Loved it. Aside from the striking beauty of the lead actress, and the ethereal earworm value of the main theme, was the show stopping acting job put in by all cast members, but the little guy playing Mu Chen's son, Xiao Le, still has me in amazement. Along the way the storyline needed pruning, and this was accomplished by the six year 'time leap' where characters and events made more sense; even while bringing in a whole new set of characters. Tearjerker for sure. Even a world worn stoic such as myself got a little misty at key points in the series. Kudos...

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When they call this a melodrama, they mean it. Sometimes there are dramas that get the title “melodramatic” and don’t deserve it. They don’t bring a single tear to your eye, you don’t feel the pain of the characters and you really don’t care what happens, if they die, if they fall in love, and so on. But this show, however, like many other diamonds in the rough that I have found, will make you feel those emotions. If the plot doesn’t get you ready for a tear fest, and getting your chocolate bars and tissues ready, let me just say, you need to get that stuff a.s.a.p. Sometimes I like to believe, that I don’t have a heart, and that some stories just aren’t as touching as some people make it out to be. The drama, not enough, the sadness, not so sad, the touching moments, not so touching, but then there are those that actually get to you. Autumn’s Concerto is one of those dramas. Those dramas that make the strongest heart, quiver and crumble, and let the tears flow like Niagara Falls. If you don’t find yourself a little bit messed up, and emotionally unstable while watching this, well then lady or gentleman, you need to go to the doctor and see if you even have a heart.

How would you feel, if you fell in love with someone, you were dying, then they left, and you lost your memories, then it came back, and you found out everything that you knew was a lie? I know right, that sounds extreme, and that is why it’s a drama. The most extreme things happen in dramas, and isn’t it why we love them? They take things from reality, and mix it together to get the most exaggerated, extreme, events to happen to these innocent and sometimes not so innocent characters’ lives, and make a way for them to find a happy ending, and sometimes a tearful sad ending. For those reasons, we come back for more and more…and I am no exception. The circumstances in this drama, may it be extreme and the most typical event that happen in an Asian drama, it still turns out to be a good one.

Though I have said it a million times, that I am usually not impressed with most Taiwanese dramas, be it for the dodgy cinematography, or the acting, I was pleasantly surprised with this. The cinematography if you find a good version, is nice, it pretty, and for the most part acceptable and good, the acting as well. I think this is one of the best acting I have seen in a Taiwanese drama, and this is unusual because I usually can only find good acting, in my opinion, in Ariel Lin and Mike Chang dramas. But I was surprised to see the passion and emotion in both the main actors and actresses, and the not so important actors. Though there were some, few, actors and actress that had iffy acting skills, for the most part, they were excellent. The child who played the son of the leads, wow, he was amazing. He was good at crying, being senser and having deep conversations. That takes a lot for a child of his age .

Speaking of deep conversations, though there may be, a lot, parts that you want to skip through because they seem boring and uninteresting to you, you really shouldn’t skip them. I myself, had the urge to press fast forward, to skip the main couple, and what not, but I didn’t. I hope you don’t either. This drama has some of the most interesting, intense, and deep dialog that I have ever seen. From the child, to the elders, these conversations have meaning, and aren’t just placed there to fill in space. With each dialog you get to know each character better, these conversations they have are important in learning about the characters, and seeing how they developed, and seeing their true feelings that sometimes cannot always be acted out.

Overall, I enjoyed this drama, obviously. I finished it quickly, for it being 21 episodes long. But I am not saying it is a flawless drama. I do have a bone to pick. This drama, ended too fast. There are many dramas that endings that leave you unsatisfied, and this is partially one of them. I say partially because we get a sense of closer, but the way it ended didn’t satisfy me. The feelings that they all went though, the drama and tragedy, wouldn’t be able to resolve in one episode. Though I cannot give the ending away, I just want to say that the lead couple needed another episode to get things straight, for them to either get together or for them to go their separate ways, they needed a lot more time to talk about it, and to work it out. Maybe going spate ways for a while to figure out how much they mean to one another, and to see if they really do love each other, and to show how much they would miss one another. Or to stay to just leave, and not look back, living lives as separate people and strangers. There was a sense of being rushed, and that left me a little upset, but that is the only thing that I have to really complain about this drama.

To end this, I would like to say that I do recommend this to people. For those who love a good ole melodramatic drama, to those who are interested in watching a Taiwanese drama for the first time, and for those who are looking for some sadness in their life. I think this drama will fulfill the hunger of most drama lovers, and those who are just now trying to find something to get them interested in.

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